Plea for more organ donators in Kirklees this Christmas

A new campaign is calling for more people in Kirklees to sign up as organ donators this festive season.

The NHS is urging people to join its Organ Donor Register.

It comes after recent figures were released, showing that in the last five years 15 people in Kirklees have died whilst waiting for a transplant, compared to 139 who have successfully had life-saving transplants.

Currently there are 53 people in the area on the waiting list for a transplant.

Sally Johnson, NHS Blood and Transplant Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation, said: “It’s a terrible shame that so many people who want to save lives through organ donation have not taken the next, simple step to register that decision.

“We all have busy lives, yet most of us would admit we still find ourselves whiling time away and delaying things.

“Signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register is one thing we know people often just haven’t got around to doing.

“This Christmas, we are asking everyone who supports organ donation to take just a few minutes of their online time to show that support by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

Statistics show that the majority of people support organ donation - yet only a third of people in the UK have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register.

In Kirklees, 131,649 people have registered their decision to be an organ donor.

Thanks to people donating after their deaths, over the last year 23 people living in Kirklees have had a potentially life-changing transplant.

There is no age limit to organ donation and everyone is encouraged to have a conversation with their family about organ donation.

People from black and Asian communities have a higher incidence of conditions such as diabetes and certain forms of hepatitis, making them more likely to need a transplant, yet people from these communities are less likely to agree to organ donation.

To sign up to the scheme or find out more information, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk.

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